What is data center revenue?

Data center revenue is money earned from selling products or services to data center operators. What that means varies by company:Chip companies (Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom): revenue from selling GPUs, CPUs, and networking hardwareServer hardware companies (IBM, Intel): revenue (mainly) from selling servers and related softwareCloud operators (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud): fees charged to businesses for using computing capacity

How do data centers make money?

There are three main business models:Cloud providers charge businesses for compute, storage, and networking on a usage or subscription basis.Colocation facilities charge customers to physically house their own servers in a managed environment.Hardware suppliers sell the chips and servers that data centers run on. AI chips are especially valuable – high-end GPU accelerators can cost tens of thousands of dollars per unit.

What is the biggest data center company?

It depends on the category:Largest data center hardware supplier: Nvidia, with $62.3 billion in data center revenue in a single quarterLargest data center cloud operator: Amazon Web Services, with approximately $128.7 billion in annual cloud revenueLargest data center colocation REIT: Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX), followed by Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR)

What are data center stocks and AI data center stocks?

Data center stocks are publicly traded companies whose revenue is substantially tied to data center infrastructure. They fall into three categories:AI chip suppliers: Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, and IntelCloud operators: Amazon, Microsoft, and AlphabetData center REITs: Equinix and Digital Realty

How Much Data Center Revenue Do AI Companies Bring In?

Several companies are cashing in on the billions in spending that are defining the AI era.

By Lyle Daly – Updated Mar 5, 2026 at 2:26 PM EST

Key Points

Nvidia leads in AI chip revenue, making $194 billion in 2026, dominating 86% of the market.
The hyperscalers are collectively planning close to $600 billion in 2026 capital expenditure.
Broadcom’s custom AI chips fueled its revenue to $20 billion in FY2025, showing rapid growth.

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Nvidia

Nvidia’s data center segment generated $62 billion in its Q4 FY2026, up 75% year over year, driven by massive demand for its Blackwell GPUs. Its full-year data center revenue was $194 billion.
Nvidia derives 91% of its revenue from data centers and holds 86% of the AI chip market among itself, AMD (AMD -2.33%), and Intel.
A key risk for Nvidia is its inability to access China’s massive market due to U.S. export controls.

Broadcom

Broadcom is the second-largest AI semiconductor supplier by revenue. Full-year FY2025 AI semiconductor revenue was $20 billion, up 65% year over year.
In Q1 FY2026, AI semiconductor revenue reached $8.4 billion, up 106% year over year.
Broadcom builds custom AI accelerators, XPUs, for specific hyperscalers rather than selling GPUs broadly. It also makes high-speed Ethernet switches that connect AI chips inside data centers.

AMD

AMD’s Q4 2025 data center revenue was $5.4 billion. Full-year data center revenue was $16.6 billion.
AMD produces CPUs for cloud and enterprise services and AI GPUs for AI training and inference.
Like Nvidia, AMD faces export controls that restrict its ability to sell its most advanced AI GPUs to China.

Intel

Intel’s data center revenue in Q4 2025 was $4.7 billion. Its full-year revenue was $16.9 billion.
Intel faces supply constraints after misjudging AI-driven demand for server CPUs.
The company recently finalized Nvidia's $5 billion strategic investment in Intel via a sale of stock.

IBM (NASDAQ:IBM)

IBM’s Q4 2025 data center revenue was $5.1 billion. Its 2025 data center revenue was $17 billion.
IBM does not compete in AI GPUs or cloud-scale chips. Its AI data center revenue comes from, among other things, its hardware: Power servers and Z-series mainframes.
Z mainframe revenue was up 67% year over year, driven by the AI data center buildout.

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Amazon Web Services

AWS Q4 2025 cloud revenue was approximately $35.6 billion, up 24% year over year. Full-year 2025 cloud revenue was approximately $128.7 billion.
AWS is the largest cloud provider by revenue and is a primary destination for enterprise AI workloads, with an annualized run rate above $140 billion.
Amazon announced a $200 billion capital expenditure plan for 2026, the majority directed at AWS and AI infrastructure.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud segment reported $32.9 billion in Q2 FY2026, with Azure and other cloud services growing 39% year over year. Full-year FY2025 Intelligent Cloud revenue was approximately $106.3 billion.
Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI gives it privileged access to frontier AI models and has accelerated enterprise adoption of Azure AI services.
Capital expenditure hit $37.5 billion in a single quarter (Q2 2026), up 66% year over year, with an annualized run rate approaching $100 billion.

Google Cloud

Google Cloud Q4 2025 revenue was $17.7 billion, up 48% year over year, the fastest growth rate among the three major providers. Full-year 2025 cloud revenue was approximately $59 billion.
Google Cloud's growth rate reflects accelerating enterprise adoption of AI services and the expansion of its Gemini model platform across business customers.
Alphabet revised its 2025 capital expenditure guidance upward three times, reaching $91 billion to $93 billion, compared to $52.5 billion in 2024.

The capital expenditure plans across these three businesses function as a forward-demand signal for chip suppliers. The four largest hyperscalers – Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta Platforms (META -3.77%) – combined are expected to approach $600 billion in capital expenditure in 2026. Goldman Sachs projects that total hyperscaler capital expenditure from 2025 through 2027 will reach $1.15 trillion, more than double the $477 billion spent from 2022 through 2024.

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Sources

AMD (2026). "Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Financial Results."
Alphabet (2026). "Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Results."
Amazon (2026). "Fourth Quarter Results."
Broadcom (2025). "Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results."
Broadcom (2026). "First Quarter Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Results."
Broadcom (2025). “Broadcom (AVGO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript.”
Goldman Sachs (2025). “AI: In a Bubble?”
IBM (2026). "Fourth Quarter 2025 Results."
IBM (2026). "Financial Reporting."
Intel (2026). "Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Financial Results."
Intel (2026). "Investor Relations."
Microsoft (2026). "Cloud and AI Strength Drives Second Quarter Results."
Nvidia (2026).NVIDIA Announces Financial Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2026
Nvidia (2026). "Financial Reports."

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About the Author

Lyle Daly is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering information technology and cryptocurrency. Lyle has been a contributor at the financial services company since 2018. His work has been featured on USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, Fox Business, and Nasdaq. Before joining The Motley Fool, he wrote for financial brands including Intuit.

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@LyleDaly

Lyle Daly has positions in Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Amazon, Intel, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Data Center Revenue: Nvidia Made More in One Quarter Than AMD, Intel, and IBM in a Year

Several companies are cashing in on the billions in spending that are defining the AI era.

Key Points

Sources

About the Author

Stocks Mentioned

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AI Chip and Hardware Suppliers: Revenue by Company

What Is Next for Data Center Revenue?

FAQs

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How Do AI Companies Make Revenue From Data Centers?

Cloud Operator Data Center Revenue: AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud